I just spammed your tumblr yesterday, but I also just bought and replayed Aloners, and I literally can't stop myself from repeating: This is a damn brilliant game.
So just in case someone looks at feedback when considering buying the game, I'm gonna drop some love here as well. And some very well meanining criticism, because frankly I find myself caring about everything you will be producing in the years to come and Im shameless enough to hope I may have something potentially useful to say. Wall of text incoming, but first
tl;dr: Buy this game. Support this developer. It's better than you expect, you will not regret it, and you also really want to see all her future games come to be.
So I find myself bored with most visual novels, even the ones I initially think will be interesting. Im an old gamer, Im a bit of a cynic, and I cant stop myself from being constantly aware of what's happening under the hood, especially in writing terms. Aloners is the one VN that had a profound effect on me, an effect that makes me replay it every so often just to see if the first gut reaction was just a random moment in time. It was not. I'm happy I got to throw money at this game finally. The new chapter alone was worth it - it had the right length, it was light but poignant and it was just an allaround lovely farewell to the characters and the world. Im genuinely pleased with it, especially because it is an open-ended "chapter in the story" kind of an addition, but one that still manages to create a sense of closure.
Most VNs feel like they are trying to force emotionality down the player's throat. This isn't the case here. Aloners wants to take you on a ride, and it manages to be fun and funny and lighthearted and emotional and deep at the same time, all while pretending it isn't trying too hard. The dialogues feel natural, not forced or trite, and the character of Trash is well outlined and rounded - honestly it's rare that you see such a young and in many ways immature character that isn't portrayed in an one dimensional way. Even more importantly, the way players are offered meaningfully varied choices in shaping the heroine's voice is a major reason to appreciate the game, and allowed me to feel much more immersed than I'd have thought possible. Having a character behave in a way that feels interesting or enjoyable or realistic to you, as opposed to being stuck with a, let's be honest, usually bland, tasteless and cliched blank page (with mandatory pink ribbons at that), well, it makes a world of difference.
The thing is, there is some very smart writing here, smart enough to force a level of immersion that blinds you away from any flaws it may have. :) And that is said with genuine affection, trust me. Because, to be perfectly blunt, a "last two people in the world" scenario should feel cliched. Instead it is used cleverly to put lazer focus onto the relationship of the protagonists and create tension, but it, also cleverly, isn't overemphasized, so that you don't have to be constantly reminded of how cliche it really is. The world buidling is neither super original nor flawless, but again, it doesn't need to be, because it is smartly used to support the emotional ebbs and flows of the story. The structure follows all the expected beats that you should be able to see coming from miles away, but I didn't care, because I was invested. And Im gonna be painfully honest here, the main "twist" of the relationship was the one story beat that felt a bit forced and a bit immature compared to the rest of the writing, but... I mean, I was in love by then, so... you get away with it. :)
At the end of the day, there is very little that good writing won't allow you to get away with. But good writing that also leaves room for player agency, in a game format that usually feels so constricting, that can create some real magic. And the fact that you persuaded cynic ol' me of my genuine agency within the story, while I was still analyzing all the smoke and mirrors, that's a great trick to have in your tool belt. It's what makes Aloners so good, what separates it from so many other VNs, and what I think earned you so many loyal fans. You allowed room for them in your game, while never taking your hand off the steering wheel. Masterful sleight of hand, that.
So for a first work by a very young writer and game dev, Aloners goes above and beyond any expectations. It shows some real talent and some spectacular instinct for both writing and emotional characterization. It's fresh and genuine and literally forces you to fall for this protagonist, by persuading you with subtle touches that you are allowed not to. It lets you unapologetically wallow in its romance, without being patronizing or overworked.
And one last thing (which may have been the very first thing I ever commented on, the first time I played, and still impresses me at every playthrough): The way asking for consent is written into the story is exemplary. Without slowing down the rythym or feeling like it's a forced PC addition, without taking the player out of the mood, interrupting the urgency or messing with characterization. Asking for consent while remaining sexy but without being emotionally coersive. Thank you for that. Really. You should be writing how-tos to be distributed in schools, we need everyone to learn how to do this and clearly you've got this shit down.
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[PS. Im gonna shamelessly take advantage of our age difference to permit myself some unsolicited advice: Don't spend too much of your life obsessing over criticism and fan interactions, good or bad. The good can be distracting, the bad can be draining, neither is worth too much time that you could be spending writing or just living your life. Especially when you finally hit a big and heartless platform like steam, don't fret over every random stranger with an opinion and an internet connection. Take what you can use, discard the rest, find your balance. They're YOUR games.]
Im very much looking forward to Wilders. I'm really happy to see an original setting and to see that you didn't shy away from complicated and challenging themes. Im going to try and wait until the whole game drops, if I can resist, but I played the demo, and Im excited to see how much you have matured as a writer. Thank you for sharing your work with us and for sticking with it. Sorry I got so carried away and wrote so much, but believe me, it's from genuine affection. I wish you all the very best for the future, whatever path you land on.